The Volkswagen Golf is already one of the world’s most popular small cars, fun-to-drive, fuel-efficient, and has sold over thirty million globally. Right now is the time to turn it into an electric vehicle, and the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf will be the company’s first battery electric vehicle to go on sale in the United States.
Following the Tesla Motors way of marketing, the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf will only come as a fully-equipped premium model, starting at $35,445 or $299 per month lease. It’s not entirely clear to me, but it seems that those prices are before any federal or state electric vehicle tax incentives, which would put the Volkswagen e-Golf in the sub-$30K segment. That being said, starting in November, Volkswagen e-Golf buyers or lessees are going to get a lot of car for less than $30K, which will surely prove to boost electric vehicle adoption.
The 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf is equipped with a 199 lb•ft electric motor generator, fed by a 430 V 24.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Recharging via 7.2 kW onboard charger is standard, LII 240 V charging completely in less than four hours. DC fast-charging capability, which can charge 80% capacity in about thirty minutes, is also standard. The warranty covers 70% of battery capacity for eight years or 100,000 miles, which should be a sigh of relief for those worried about battery failure.
Depending on driver habit, the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf is expected to have a range of up to 90 miles, putting it on par with the Nissan LEAF for range and price. We already have a growing number of Nissan LEAF owners who are very happy with their electric vehicles, so it stands to reason that a comparable model in the fun-to-drive segment should prove to be just as popular.
Photo credit: motorblog
